By Peggy O'Farrell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The autumn roundup of new health titles includes works on autoimmune diseases, yoga, Alzheimer's disease and an alternative to hormone replacement therapy.

Check out these new books for answers to what ails you:

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Pediatric Fibromyalgia (Warner Books; $13.95) by Dr. R. Paul St. Amand and Claudia Craig Marek outlines a regimen using guaifenesin, a common ingredient in cold medicines, to treat the autoimmune disease in children. The book also offers nutrition and coping tips for children and their parents.

A Dignified Life: The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care (HCI Books; $12.95) by Virginia Bell and David Troxel is a guide for caregivers on avoiding burnout and frustration, describing a model of care that can be used in private homes or long-term care facilities.

Yoga for Women (DK Publishing; $25) by Shakta Kaur Khalsa offers an illustrated guide to various yoga poses and an explanation of their health benefits, along with health and nutrition tips and inspirational accounts of yoga's benefits for women.

Controlling Cholesterol for Dummies (Wiley; $21.99) by Carol Ann Rinzler and Dr. Martin W. Graf provides a primer on cholesterol: The good kind, the bad kind, what to eat and what foods to avoid, lifestyle strategies for controlling cholesterol and medication options, including vitamins and supplements, for reducing the arterial sludge.

The Soy Solution for Menopause: The Estrogen Alternative (Fireside Books; $14) by Dr. Machelle Seibel looks at soy's role in slowing or preventing cancer, weight gain, osteoporosis, heart disease and hot flashes associated with menopause.

Living Well with Autoimmune Disease (HarperResource; $14.95) by Mary J. Shomon outlines how the immune system works, the symptoms and risk factors for autoimmune disease (which includes diabetes and multiple sclerosis), new treatments and research, resources and theories for slowing and stopping the process.

Fibromyalgia for Dummies (Wiley; $21.99) by Dr. Roland Staud and Christine Adamec outlines what fibromyalgia is, its symptoms and why it affects mostly women. The book also offers tips on finding a knowledgeable doctor, a guide to medication and lifestyle strategies for managing stress, losing weight and avoiding trigger foods.

The Cancer Monologue Project (MacAdam/Cage; $22) edited by Tanya Taylor and Pamela Thompson is a collection of 30 essays from cancer survivors on their experiences with the disease and its treatment.

Happiness: A Guide to a Good Life (Arcade Publishing; $23.95) by Jean Vanier is really more a philosophical treatise based on the teachings of Aristotle, but the work gives insight into our quest for happiness from a psychological, spiritual and moral standpoint.

New Foods for Healing (Bantam; $7.50) by Selene Yeager and the editors of Prevention looks at more than 100 foods and how they can be used to treat chronic pain, arthritis, asthma, hypertension, heartburn and other ailments.

E-mail pofarrell@enquirer.com.